We realize this can be difficult to sort out. Feel free to call us at any point, or if you’re more comfortable, explore our website for information on these services.

Our Continuum of Care

Navigating the mental health system can be challenging, even for those of us who work in it. You may be wondering what services you need. To help determine the type of services you need, we need to examine something we use in the field to help us determine the kind of services you might need called the Continuum of Care.

The Continuum of Care is exactly what it sounds like. One end is anchored by the least restrictive and intensive services while the other end is anchored by the treatments that are the most restrictive and intensive.

The treatments along the Continuum of Care include the following:

Individual, Group, or Family Therapy:This usually entails a once-a-week therapy session lasting one hour, however it can be up to 3 hours a week and include several appointments. For example, often our clients will have an individual therapy session in the same week as a group and/or family therapy session.

Intensive Outpatient: Intensive outpatient therapy usually involves 10-15 hours of therapy per week. Typically, the therapy is made up of individual, group, and family therapy. The therapy is usually offered three to five days a week for three to four hours each day.

Partial Hospitalization: This level of care usually involves 15-30 hours of treatment each week, again consisting of individual, family, and group therapy. It usually takes place five days a week for three to five hours each day.

Detoxification (Detox): Detox is typically a short-term inpatient stay lasting three to five days in duration. The goal of detoxification is to help you successfully detox from the substances you’ve been using and have developed a physiological dependence on. Substances many clients go through detoxification for include alcohol, sedatives, such as benzodiazepines, like Xanax, and opiates, such as Oxycontin and heroin. Detox is more of a medical service than a mental health or behavioral treatment. Detoxification ensures that you don’t experience life-threatening withdrawal. It also stabilizes you so you can enter treatment.

To determine what level of care a potential client needs, it’s best to have an assessment done by a professional that specializes in the treatment of substance use disorders. However, we’ve often found that many clients and their loved ones have an idea of the level of care they need, and they are typically right. Unfortunately, insurance companies usually require an assessment by a professional before they will authorize payment for treatment. At Project Courage, we’re proud of our assessment process. We feel we’ve found a balance between providing sophisticated diagnostics and honoring the human experience and not pathologizing the individual being assessed.